Immortal
by Hyr'Ayl
Summary: A sequel to MOTB. The Spirit Eater has devoured Akachi's soul and become immortal and powerful; now he sets on a quest to search for another immortal being, a tormented creature who is reputed to have lived in Sigil...


The smell of incense filled the air, numbing my senses as I cautiously walked forward trough piles of curious items, ranging from stuffed animals to crystal globes and amulets of all kinds. It was surprising how such an immense amount of items could be concentrated in such a small room- in fact, everything was amassed so thickly and haphazardly that with every step I was afraid I could bump into something and collapse the whole pile.

The so-called _seer_ was sitting in the middle of the room, on a large, dark red cushion, covered in a tattered grey robe obviously too large for him. He appeared indefinitely old, his charcoal skin so tight that it looked as if it was just tanned leather nailed onto his bones. His hair, long and white, went down to his mid-back and shone in the dim light with azure reflexes. A blindfold covered his eyes.

"Come. Sit here." He said, in a dry, raspy voice. I sat on the ground before him, still studying his ascetic figure.

"I have heard you are a knowledgeable person." I said.

The old drow nodded. "You were told the truth. There are few things in the planes that escape my knowledge."

"Then you must also know what is the reason of my visit."

He nodded again, impassive. "What you want to ask, is if on the planes has ever walked a creature that was blessed with immortality. But what you want to _know _is if on the planes has ever walked a creature who was cursed with eternal life."

I smiled, as If he could've seen it. "That is true. And I assume you know the answer as well?"

He smiled, or perhaps grinned. "You seem to be asking of the Gods, or the undead- but no, you are not. You are asking if a _mortal _has ever been an immortal. You come to me asking if someone has been stripped of his mortality and left into his earthly shell. You ask me if someone else like you has ever existed."

"And I assume that if he was like me, he must still exist somewhere." I concluded.

"Yes. I know the answer you seek. "

"So? Who was this person? When did he achieve eternal fife?"

The seer remained silent for a few seconds, pondering. I couldn't tell whether he was digging it from his memory or receiving it from some unknown source, as if a god was whispering the answer in his ear.

"He had no name I could speak."

"That's not very helpful in finding him."

"Patience. I also know he was a human like you."

I smirked, disappointed. "You are not much of a seer, are you? I'm no human."

"Oh yes you are, half-blood. Don't think I can't smell the reek of Baator on your skin- but you are still more human than you'd like to admit."

I didn't object, he went on. "He lived in a place of many doors and many contradictions, in the centre of all the intertwined universes, atop the Spire."

"Sigil?" I stared at him, trying to figure out whether he was lying.

"Yes. "

"And when…."

"When is no meaningful question. There is no _before_ or _after _in the planes. What is now and here today could be tomorrow in Sigil, and yesterday in Limbo. It could become three months ago tomorrow and three years past the day after. "

His apparent gibberish left me confused for a second- the meaning was anyway clear.

"But then again, if I search an immortal being, there is no reason to worry _when_ am I going to find him, is there?"

He nodded, impassive.

"And is there no more you can tell me about this entity? This man who become…."

"I can tell you this: his immortality does not give him happiness. He is cursed, tormented by it."

"Something _useful_?"

"I can tell you that even if your skills are as great as you arrogance, it won't be an easy search."

"I see. I suppose I owe you a fee." I handed him a small leather purse. He took it with claw-like hands and brought it close to his face, as if he could see it.

"You know I am knowledgeable, yet you try to cheat me with cheap tricks." He handed back to me the bag, disgusted.

"It was a cheap trick, sure, but not to cheat you- in fact, to test you. A real seer would've seen the danger, a charlatan would've paid." I took off the vial of lit alchemic fire from the bag and shut the wick off. Then I handed the bag it back to the drow.

"With your permission, I am off."

He gave no sign of noticing me anymore. He hid the purse somewhere beneath his robes and begun humming a low litany which accompanied me until I was out of the room and back into the dark, rainy alleys of Waterdeep.


End file.
